BREAKING: All Packages From Abroad to Be Taxed Under New Executive Order

Trump ends duty-free treatment for all international shipments under $800, from 29 August — ending decades of frictionless global e-commerce and giving U.S. Customs sweeping new powers.

Aug 04, 2025

Executive Order: “Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries”
What this Executive Order does
The legal mechanism: emergency powers
The real world impact
What to watch for next
Why this hasn’t been widely reported

Dear friends

I’m interrupting my holiday prep to flag an Executive Order that demands your attention. Signed on 30 July 2025, it suspends duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries — effectively wiping out the rule that once allowed low-value imports to enter the U.S. without duties or delays.

De minimis is a trade rule that sets a value threshold — $800 — for imports to the U.S. In practice, it means that if something you order from abroad is under the value of $800, it clears customs without duties, delays, or paperwork. Although it accounts for a relatively small share of the total value of imports, de minimis trade today represents 92% of all international packages entering the U.S., with CBP processing over 1 billion packages last year.

The purpose of de minimis is to streamline the flow of low-value goods, reduce administrative cost, and allow ordinary people to buy and receive small items from abroad without being caught up in red tape. For decades, it has quietly supported global commerce at the level of everyday life — enabling cross-border purchases, small business transactions, and international gift-giving with little friction.

Not any more.

In early February 2025, Trump suspended de minimis treatment for low-value imports from China and Hong Kong, citing drug trafficking and unsafe goods as justification. There followed a brief pause due to customs backlogs, but once enforcement systems were in place, the policy was reinstated — formally and indefinitely — on 2 May 2025.

The impact was immediate: tariffs soared — some as high as 145% — and postal shipments faced rising flat fees. Platforms like Temu and Shein were thrown into disarray, with some halting U.S. deliveries altogether, while others scrambled to reroute stock through domestic warehouses.

That was the test run. What’s happening now is the full global rollout.

Under this Executive Order, the duty-free threshold for imports will be eliminated for all countries from 29 August, 2025. That means any item entering the United States — regardless of value, origin, or shipping method — will now be subject to duties and full customs processing. A $20 item from abroad may arrive with a customs charge. It may also face delays at the border, even if it’s something you’ve ordered many times before without issue. Or it may not arrive at all.

There was no debate in Congress. No public consultation. Just a declaration of emergency, followed by a permanent shift in how cross-border trade operates.

What This Executive Order Does

This executive order eliminates de minimis duty-free treatment across the board. That means every single shipment entering the United States — no matter how small or where it comes from — is about to be subject to duties, taxes, and full customs processing.

For the first time, even low-value items will be taxed like larger commercial imports. Whether it’s a $5 hair clip from Taiwan or a $75 shirt from Canada, it will no longer qualify for a pass: the old $800 threshold is being scrapped. That alone will create a ripple effect of added costs, delays, and administrative burdens — not just for buyers, but for the companies that handle shipping, fulfilment, and customs compliance.

There is a small exception: postal shipments — packages sent through national postal services like Royal Mail or La Poste — still get temporary relief. But that’s on borrowed time. The order instructs US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to come up with a new process for taxing those too. Once it’s ready and announced in the Federal Register, even international postal mail will lose its duty-free status.

In the meantime, for postal shipments, carriers will have to pick one of two ways to collect duties:

Option A: Percentage-Based Tariff (Ad Valorem)
This applies a duty based on the actual value of the item, using a rate tied to the country it comes from. So if the US has slapped a 25% emergency tariff on goods from China, that percentage will be applied to every package from China — no matter the cost.

Option B: Flat Fee (Available for 6 Months Only)
Alternatively, carriers can charge a flat duty per item, depending on the origin country’s tariff bracket:

Countries with under 16% tariffs: $80 per item
Countries with 16–25% tariffs: $160 per item
Countries with over 25% tariffs: $200 per item

That flat-fee option will only last for six months. After that, all packages must switch to the percentage-based model. Either way, postal carriers must now calculate, collect, and send those duties to CBP, adding layers of complexity to what used to be a hands-off process.

And there’s more. The E.O. allows Customs to demand bonds from shipping companies — financial guarantees to make sure they pay what’s owed. In effect, this means that every single link in the import chain is being pulled into an enforcement role.

To be clear, what’s happening here is not simply a technical adjustment — it’s a systemic overhaul, one which gives Customs and Border Protection expanded authority to regulate and tax hit the smallest, cheapest imports just as hard as the big ones.

The Legal Mechanism: Emergency Powers

Trump hasn’t gone through Congress to make this change. A longstanding trade rule that enabled global commerce at the individual level has been removed not through legislation, but by executive order under emergency powers.

These emergency powers — specifically the National Emergencies Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — give the president broad authority to act unilaterally once a national emergency has been declared.

Under the National Emergencies Act, Trump can declare that something — whether it’s drug trafficking, migration, or a trade imbalance — poses an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security. Once that declaration is in place, it unlocks more than a hundred special powers, with IEEPA one of them. This was designed to give the president tools to respond to foreign threats — things like freezing assets or blocking trade with hostile governments — but its scope has now expanded. Now it allows the White House to control imports, impose duties, and bypass the usual legislative process when it comes to economic policy.

Trump’s latest Executive Order also builds on four prior "emergencies" that he declared earlier this year — each one creating the legal foundation for him to bypass Congress and rewrite trade rules by decree.

These are:

EO 14193 (Canada): Declared that Canada poses a national security threat because it isn’t doing enough to stop fentanyl and other illicit drugs from crossing the northern border. Trump has used this to justify tariffs and suspending de minimis treatment for Canadian imports.
EO 14194 (Mexico): Mirrored the Canada order, but is aimed at the southern border. Trump has claimed Mexico is failing to disrupt drug and human trafficking networks, and used the same rationale to target imports from Mexico.
EO 14195 (China): Focused on China’s role in the synthetic opioid supply chain — especially precursor chemicals and money laundering. This allowed Trump to impose strict duties on Chinese and Hong Kong imports and eliminate de minimis for those regions.
EO 14257 (Global Trade Deficits): Declared a separate emergency tied to the United States’ “large and persistent” trade deficits. It argued that foreign trade practices — particularly from countries with trade surpluses — pose a structural threat to America’s economic security.

Each one of these "emergencies" triggered IEEPA powers, reshaping import policy allowing for new tariffs, and justifying chipping away at duty-free protections — without Congressional debate or public consultation. Now, this latest order ties them all together. It uses these overlapping emergencies to justify a global suspension of the de minimis exemption, apply new tariffs, and direct Customs and Border Protection to enforce the rules across all shipments — regardless of value. It also draws private carriers and postal systems into the enforcement process, with new responsibilities and financial risk.

The pattern is clear, and consistent: emergency declarations are being used to concentrate power, shift control to the executive branch, and sideline Congress. The legal tools were already in place. What’s changed is how far — and how swiftly —they’re now being used.

The Real World Impact

The effects of this order will be felt as soon as the EO comes into effect (29 August) — and not just at the border.

For U.S. consumers, prices are likely to rise. A $30 item ordered from abroad may now arrive with an unexpected $80 fee. Even in cases where duties are percentage-based, delays will become more common, and many buyers won’t realise the rules have changed until their parcel is held or rerouted. That shift alone could mean fewer affordable options online and a sharp increase in abandoned purchases.

For U.S. small businesses — especially those sourcing materials or finished goods from outside the U.S. — this introduces new layers of complexity. Every shipment, no matter how small, will require formal customs entry, duty payment, and compliance tracking. Margins will tighten, and administrative burdens will grow. For independent sellers, Etsy shops, and low-volume importers, the cost of staying in business has just quietly increased.

Supply chains will feel it too. Many overseas suppliers rely on the de minimis threshold to deliver directly to U.S. customers with minimal friction. Without it, they’ll need to find new shipping strategies or risk being priced out of the market. Costs may rise, delivery times may stretch, and the knock-on effects could reach all the way through production and fulfilment.

Diplomatically, the move will add further strain. This isn’t limited to a few countries — the suspension applies globally. Even long-standing trading partners face the same sudden shift in treatment, regardless of existing agreements or past exemptions. Whether it’s Canada, Mexico, Germany, Vietnam, or the UK, all international shipments under $800 are now treated as taxable imports. China — already facing extensive tariffs — is further isolated. These actions risk retaliation, trade disputes, and the erosion of international norms that have held for decades.

Although the policy is being presented as part of the fight against fentanyl, the mechanism tells a different story. This is not targeted drug enforcement. It’s a broad suspension of trade protections, enforced through flat fees and emergency authority, with global implications. The structure of the order points not to public health, but to the steady centralisation of economic control in the hands of the executive.

And the executive now directs how goods move, who is allowed to participate in trade, and who will bear the cost.

What to Watch For Next

Here’s how things could unfold next—and what to keep an eye on:

First, watch whether Customs and Border Protection ramps up surveillance efforts tied to enforcement. Historically, similar moves include expanded screening, data monitoring of shippers, and scrutiny of courier platforms. If routine duties suddenly require bonds or carrier oversight under CBP’s purview, these capabilities may creep into everyday commerce—tightening control under the guise of compliance.

Second, international mail still has a temporary exemption, but it won’t last. Postal shipments can continue entering without full customs paperwork until CBP publishes a new entry process in the Federal Register. That could happen at any point after 29 August. Separately, carriers can opt to charge flat fees — $80 to $200 per item — rather than percentage-based tariffs, but only for six months. After that, all postal imports will fall under the standard tariff system. Watch for Federal Register notices and updates from postal carriers to know exactly when these changes take effect.

Third, watch for international reaction. While Canada, Mexico, and China were singled out in earlier executive orders, this suspension applies globally—including to longstanding allies and major trading partners. The UK, EU, Japan, and others have recently signed or renewed trade agreements with the U.S., and may view this move as a breach of economic cooperation. Retaliation could take many forms: reciprocal tariffs, WTO complaints, or restrictions on U.S. exports and investment. Tracking diplomatic statements, trade negotiations, and formal challenges will offer the clearest signs of how this unfolds.

Fourth, consider the risk this approach might extend beyond physical goods. If emergencies now justify rewriting trade norms, what’s stopping the next expansion into digital goods, online services, financial remittances, or even software imports? That would radically overhaul the legal architecture of international commerce.

Finally, hold out for resistance points and legal challenges. Congress could reassert trade authority or attempt to revoke the emergency declarations. Courts might be asked to review the scope of IEEPA and whether a blanket suspension of de minimis treatment is legally sound. States, businesses, and civil society actors could file litigation arguing that this exceeds presidential authority or violates statutory limits.

In short, this is just the beginning. The real story will be written in how those changes are implemented, challenged, and — possibly — rolled back.

Why This Hasn’t Been Widely Reported

First, this deep‑cut trade reform mostly affects e‑commerce flows and small shipments— it’s not about headline‑grabbing tariffs on autos or steel. So, many people won’t notice the change until their overseas packages suddenly carry customs charges or get delayed.

Second, the change didn’t come through Congress or with the usual fanfare of a major trade shift. It was issued as an executive order under emergency powers — couched in national security language, not economic policy terms. That meant no press conference, no legislative debate, and no clear signal to the public that everyday trade rules had just changed. It was a structural shift, presented as enforcement, so it’s easy to miss — until the impact hits.

But make no mistake — this change is not just about imports. It reflects a broader shift in how power is being exercised by the Trump administration — through the steady use of emergency declarations to rewrite the terms of everyday life.

Activities that once felt ordinary — ordering something online, receiving a gift from abroad, running a small cross-border business — are now being reframed as matters of national security. That expands the reach of executive authority into areas that were never meant to be governed this way.

While today it’s low-value goods, what comes next may include digital services, remittances, or access to the cloud. The pattern is clear: more control, fewer checks, and less public debate.

This isn’t the collapse of global commerce, but it marks a line worth paying attention to. When emergency powers become the default, the boundaries of what can be restricted move quietly — and quickly.

Although I’m about to leave on our family vacation, I think this merits deeper exploration — especially given how little attention it’s getting elsewhere. On Wednesday, I plan to offer a strategy to help you get ahead of Trump’s trade crackdown before it hits your wallet.

That next post will be available only to premium subscribers. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading, I warmly invite you to make the move, with 30% off an annual subscription — locked in for life. This offer will expire when this next post goes live. So if this work helps you make sense of — and stay grounded through — what's unfolding, I’d love to have you with us on the inside.

Get 30% off forever

On Friday, I’ll return to my original plan for my ‘holiday window’, spotlighting my first guest writer: David Salzillo of Salzillo’s Two Cents. You won’t want to miss it.

And finally, a quick reminder: over the next few weeks, other than my weekly ‘hope’ post, I’ll be stepping back from Substack (DJT notwithstanding), and don’t plan on replying to messages or comments until I return from vacation. I hope you’ll understand.

I’ll be back on Monday, 1 September — rested, recharged, and full of new ideas for the road ahead. I’m genuinely looking forward to catching up with you then. It’s each and every one of you who makes this work possible, and I’m so grateful you’re here.

In solidarity, as ever

— Lori